Following his shocking resignation from NBCUniversal on Tuesday, Ron Meyer has stepped down as chair of the Film Academy Museum’s board, Variety has confirmed.
The former Universal executive held the position since 2017. Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s co-chief executive officer and vice-chair of the museum’s board, will serve as acting chair. The next board meeting takes place on Sept. 15, during which the board of trustees will vote on a new chair.
Sarandos sent a letter to fellow museum trustees on Tuesday night informing them that Meyer had stepped down.
“I am writing to inform you that the Executive Committee of the Academy Museum’s Board of Trustees has accepted the resignation of Ron Meyer from the Board, for which he has served as Chair. The Board appreciates the support and guidance he has provided the museum during his tenure. As Vice-Chair, I will serve as Acting Chair until our September 15 meeting, where we will all vote on new board leadership,” he wrote.
Meyer’s resignation as vice chairman of NBCUniversal came as he disclosed that he reached a private settlement with a woman who tried to extort him after they engaged in an extramarital affair several years ago.
“I recently disclosed to my family and the company that I made a settlement, under threat, with a woman outside the company who had made false accusations against me. Admittedly, this is a woman I had a very brief and consensual affair with many years ago. I made this disclosure because other parties learned of the settlement and have continuously attempted to extort me into paying them money or else they intended to falsely implicate NBCUniversal, which had nothing to do with this matter, and to publish false allegations about me,” Meyer said in a statement on Tuesday.
Sources told Variety that Meyer was involved in an affair with actress Charlotte Kirk eight years ago, which is what ultimately led to his resignation.
The Academy Museum is scheduled to open on April 30, 2021, after originally being announced in 2012 and suffering several delays and budget problems.
The news was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.